Shelving systems of this type can be used in the shopfitting field for displaying merchandise and are known in a variety of embodiments. Frequently, cantilever racks are used, in which shelf supports designed as angle brackets for carrying shelves or other carrier elements are hooked into shelf rails so as to extend outward, the shelf rails being designed as wall rails or free-standing shelf columns or shelf uprights and having periodic punched holes for receiving the shelf brackets at varying heights. The punched holes can simply be slots that are evenly spaced from one another vertically. The shelf brackets engage with generally hook-shaped engaging sections in the slots behind the front face of the shelf rails and thereby secure the shelf brackets in the desired position. The shelf elements are fastened either at the top to the shelf brackets or to bearing sections molded thereon at a right angle.
Such shelving systems allow the storage rack to be easily assembled, disassembled, and adjusted to the particular requirements. The shelf elements and the like can be hooked in quickly and easily at any desired height.
It is furthermore known to provide electrical devices, and in particular lighting devices, such as halogen or LED luminaires, on the shelves or other carrier elements of storage racks, so as to achieve different visual effects by illuminating merchandise with light. A lighting device may be mounted, for example, on the front or a lateral bottom edge of a shelf so as to illuminate the compartment beneath. To supply energy, connecting cables must be run from the lighting device to an electrical power supply connections, such as a power outlet. Discreet, unobtrusive routing of the connecting cables is desired on shelving systems for shopfitting purposes.
From practical experience shelving systems, in particular for wall mounting, are known, in which current-conducting bars are integrated into the vertical braces. In general, only a single inner conductor, either for the positive pole or for the negative pole in the case of a DC power supply, is accommodated in each brace so that the shelves must be connected on both sides to the two poles in different braces.
Such a shelving system is known from WO 2005/099522 A2. In this shelving system, a cartridge having a C-shaped, electrically conductive bus bar, which is connected to a single terminal of an AC power supply, in inserted into each shelf rail. A strip-shaped conductor is adhesively attached to each angle bracket and extends from a hook-shaped engaging end of the bracket to the opposite end of the same so as to establish a connection between the bus bar and a terminal of the lighting device. A circuit thus leads via two bus bars in separate shelf rails and via two brackets, which are each provided with the adhesively attached conducting strip and carry a shelf. This design is complex and cost-intensive with respect to the wiring. Moreover, the conducting strips adhesively attached to the brackets are exposed and can easily be touched, which represents an unacceptable risk for the staff and customers when it comes to store fixtures.
In addition shelving systems are known in which both conductors of a circuit are integrated into a single shelf rail, and connections in the manner of receptacles are provided in one or more locations of the shelf rail for connecting a lighting device, into which plugs or other connectors of the lighting device can be plugged. The disadvantage here, however, is that the connections can only be provided in discreet locations of a shelf rail, which not only limits the adjustability of the height of the shelves, but can also impair the aesthetics due to the visible connecting cables and plugs. Moreover, simpler handling would be desirable.
A shelving unit that is provided with a lighting device is known from DE 34 39 657 A1, in which the power supply cables are installed hidden in the cavity of the shelf rails, while the brackets for the shelves themselves are combined with the lighting device to form a structural unit and comprise contact elements, which establish the current-conducting connection to the power supply cables when the brackets are being hooked into the shelf rail. In one embodiment, two bus bars comprising contact springs are provided in the shelf rail, which are disposed offset from one another on an insulating panel that is fastened in the interior to the back wall of the shelf rail. The contact elements for tapping the current are disposed on end faces of the hook-shaped shoulders of the brackets used for hooking the brackets in the shelf rail. The connecting lines leading from the contact elements to the lighting device are installed inside the bracket. This requires specially designed brackets having a complicated and bulky configuration.
It would be desirable to be able to use conventional angle brackets made of panel-shaped material, in particular made of sheet steel or the like, which can be used in conjunction with simple slotted rails. Moreover, it would be desirable if the shelf rails could be flexibly used both for a wall-mounted installation or for free-standing racks comprising shelf elements that can be hooked into both the front and the back, and this preferably without having to pay strict attention to the installation position of the shelf rails.